August 28th, 2003 issue #0234

You just bought your first house, and you've barely moved in when a wall of water rushes in, causing thousands of dollars in damage.
Your insurance company says you're not covered because you're not in a flood zone, and the city says you have to chip in thousands to repair the failing storm drain infrastructure that caused the flood in the first place.
And apparently your dream house has a history of such flooding.
That's what happened to the subjects of this week's cover story, Ken and Heidi Vanderford.

Ken and Heidi Vanderford had just gotten everything moved into their new home on North Berkshire Road. Tired from carrying, lifting, and unpacking, Ken decided to take a nap, contentedly dozing off to the sound of his wife putting things away.
Two hours later, their home was wrecked.
A flash flood poured through the downstairs not raging rapids from a river or from a hurricane, but a torrent from a collapsed drain in the subdivision. Despite extensive homeowner's insurance, the Vanderfords are, well, up the creek without a paddle.